Future wire in panel?

Hi all,

I am just about finished with a large remodel. Did all the wiring myself and have so far received excellent grades from my inspector. I'm wondering about wiring I installed for a possible washer/dryer in our master bedroom closet area. It's for future use and will not be hooked up. The wiring runs in the panel, but I don't want to hook it up to a breaker. What do people do in these cases? Wire nut them off? Not sure what size breaker would be required for this so I don't want to buy it yet.

In general is it acceptable to wire nut a future wire off in the panel. Would you also wire nut the neutral and ground or can they be connected?

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Future wire in panel?

I've yet to see a washer that doesnt use 120v
Not hard to run 12-2 for that
If they have gas then the dryer will be 120v too
And if electric they are pretty standard

I have connected grounds & neutrals on runs I will complete
Runs that I am not connecting in the near future I leave disconnected & wire nutted
Usually you want it all disconnected, no chance of power running

If it's a 12-2 120v run I would simply hook it up
Why not have the outlet live?

Future wire in panel?

Proves a point. Mr. W. (and many other amateurs) fails to see a [direct] relationship between the size of wire and the current (in amps.) that it carries. Should have ascertained the current usage of the appliance that they wanted to have. Generally. A Clothes Dryer that has an electrical heating element runs on 240 Volts (actually 208 V.) @ 30 Amps. A gas heated Dryer runs on 120V. and a size 12 awg. cable and 20 Amp. circuit breaker are right!!!

Future wire in panel?

Quote:

Originally Posted by wease

Hi all,

I am just about finished with a large remodel. Did all the wiring myself and have so far received excellent grades from my inspector. I'm wondering about wiring I installed for a possible washer/dryer in our master bedroom closet area. It's for future use and will not be hooked up. The wiring runs in the panel, but I don't want to hook it up to a breaker. What do people do in these cases? Wire nut them off? Not sure what size breaker would be required for this so I don't want to buy it yet.

In general is it acceptable to wire nut a future wire off in the panel. Would you also wire nut the neutral and ground or can they be connected?

Thanks.

I believe the code specs a 20A/12awg circuit for the laundry. If you think your going to have a electric dryer, i'd run a piece of EMT, ENT or FMC from the panel to a 4x4 and pull the necessary wire when you actually do the install.

If the wires are already there, wire nut and label them, make sure you use the correct size breaker on the wires when you do hook it up.

Actually it IS 240v, unless it is a commercial setting with a 120/208 3-phase service.
240v and 208V are NOT the same thing nor are they interchangeable.

__________________
Sometimes I feel like if I answer any more questions it is like someone trying to climb over a fence to jump off a bridge and me giving them a boost.
Answers based on the 2008 & 2011 NEC.

Future wire in panel?

No way in hell I'd make up the breakers.

A) You do not know what you will need later.
B) Some moron can turn on the breaker leaving live, albeit capped off, wires. Tape over the breaker means nothing to most people.
C) There is simply NO valid reason to do so.

__________________
Sometimes I feel like if I answer any more questions it is like someone trying to climb over a fence to jump off a bridge and me giving them a boost.
Answers based on the 2008 & 2011 NEC.

Future wire in panel?

We bought our house over 5 years ago
Of course all the breakers were turned on during the sale process
Turns out when they disconnected wires for old 240v electric heat they just tucked them up & (maybe) capped them at the bottom of the basement stairs
I found out they were live when I moved the wires to see where they went. Either the caps were not on tight or they came off. I just saw the sparks & jumped back